Can we talk about mayonnaise for a minute?  Are you ok with it or does it repulse you?  Because from my experience, there’s no in between.  I have no issue with mayo, but so many people have textural issues with creamy food.  I have many students who won’t eat bananas, avocado or mayo. Some people won’t eat mayonnaise because there’s a stigma attached to it and they think they’re supposed to avoid it.

Here’s the deal with traditional mayo:  it’s just oil, an egg yolk and a little vinegar.  So if it were made out of good oil, mayo isn’t a big deal, right?  The problem is that unless you’re making it from scratch which is a little bit of a pain, the mayonnaises that are available for purchase are made from really bad, refined, possibly GMO oils, like canola and soybean.  Please avoid them at all costs.  They are not your friends.

I hardly use mayonnaise at all, maybe once or twice a month in tuna salad, or a dressing or cole slaw, so it’s not worth it to me to make my own.  There is no perfect mayo out there.  I tried one made from coconut oil – did not pass the taste test in my house.  Same went for an avocado oil-based mayonnaise.  So I have settled on Soy-free Vegenaise, which is actually not mayonnaise at all because of the absence of egg yolk.  But it is the cleanest one I can find (that we actually like,) the main ingredient being expeller-pressed high-oleic safflower oil.  High-oleic safflower oil is produced from hybrid plants, which is not at all the same thing as a GMO.  But it still is possibly radiated to speed up the process.  So, not perfect.  High-oleic oils contain high amounts of oleic acid (a monounsaturated fatty acid — this is good) and only small amounts of polyunsaturated fatty acids, which makes them have a composition similar to olive oil, and therefore are more stable than traditional non-high-oleic varieties. At the end of the day, I do not strive to eat perfectly all the time.  It’s too stressful and I do the best I can.  I am grateful that I feel very good every day and although I know that Vegenaise isn’t health food, I’m ok with that once in a while.

What this post is really about is coleslaw!  I’ve been asked for the recipe many times and I am happy to share it with you today.  It’s my favorite basic coleslaw recipe with just the right amount of mayo (not too much) and a yummy tang.  I use raw apple cider vinegar here which contains wonderful live enzymes which aid in digestion.  Because I use Vegenaise which does not contain eggs, feel free to bring this coleslaw to your next potluck and don’t stress about it spoiling if left out for a reasonable amount of time.  Coleslaw is the perfect side dish to burgers, sandwiches, barbecue and sloppy joe’s and I will argue that all that incredibly healthful cabbage will outweigh any negatives from a little Vegenaise.  Hope you love it!